A Tale of Three Kunoichi
by Lixie Lorn
Summary: A new genin team. Simple. Canon not. AU, in fact, though not much. T for blood and adult themes, but no explicit lemons. Quite a few implied, and MANY sexual connotations. Yeah... Now M, and WILL have lemons.
1. Beginning

_Well, this was inspired by a technique owned by Potential Paradox in Revenge of the Jinchuriki. I have asked permission, but I can't really be bothered to wait for it. :D_

Disclaimer-I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own the technique I call Shinsei Henge, or True Transformation. I own plots and OCs. AU, BTW, but not a large one. Oh, and the title? It'll make sense eventually.

A Tale of Three Kunoichi  
Chapter 1-Beginning

* * *  
_8 AK (After Kyuubi)  
_* * *

"Iruka! Iruka-sensei!" called a young boy. He looked about twelve, with brown hair down to his shoulders, curling at the ends, deep brown eyes. He normally wore a smile, but currently his face was creased with worry.

He ran down the corridor, almost tripping on the black cloak he wore over a t-shirt and shorts of the same colour, held up by a belt that housed a pouch of shuriken. He just caught himself, skidding to a halt next to the young teacher.

"Morning Nass-kun." said Iruka. "What do you want so early?"

Henteko Nasshi was an orphan, like far too many children in Konoha. His parents, both ninja, were killed in the Kyuubi attack when he was four. To Iruka's delight, he seemed to have nothing against the young boy who bore the Kyuubi's weight. With no parents to sour his view of the boy, he judged him merely by himself.

Nasshi was quite hard working, showing a skill with genjutsu and kenjutsu, regardless of his total lack of competence in taijutsu and most ninjutsu. Also, he was terrible at one of the most basic of all ninja's skills. Henge, or Transformation.

"Iruka-sensei, we've got our graduation test today, right?" asked the boy anxiously.  
"That's right." he said.  
"What techniques do we need to show?" he asked.  
"Well, basic taijutsu and weapons, even you should manage them, as well as Henge, Kawarimi, Bunshin and one slightly more advanced ability of your choice." he said.  
"Henge…" groaned Nass. "I can't do Henge! That's why I came, I wanted to ask for help!"

Iruka smiled.  
"We've got a couple of hours before school starts properly, I'll try."

* * *_  
One hour later_  
* * *

"Nass, you're right. You really are hopeless at Henge." sighed Iruka.

Nass' face crumpled.  
"Can't we do something?"

Iruka thought.  
"Yes!" he realised. "One moment."

He left the room they were practising in, coming back with a small scroll.

"Here." he said, opening it and pointing to a technique. "Shinsei Henge."  
"What's that?"  
"Well, normal henge is a very powerful, yet simple genjutsu that effects light. It's odd that you can't do it, what with your genjutsu skills. It doesn't actually change the user, though it can manipulate chakra to such an extent that it makes absolutely no difference. Shinsei Henge is more advanced. It's part ninjutsu, part genjutsu. It physically changes the user. What's more, it can be used in far more advanced ways. It can actually change the users thought processes, memories, whatever they wish."

Nass was wide-eyed.  
"But I can't even do the normal one… how will I do a more advanced one?"  
"Well, it's actually far, far easier to learn and use. If you are good at ninjutsu, you can probably do it. If you can do genjutsu, you can probably do it."  
"Then why don't they just teach this one?" asked Nass, confused.  
"Well, if it's kept activated too long the user's body and mind adapt, and it becomes permanent and real. It's safer to use the other version."  
"How long is too long?"  
"It varies from a day to a year. A month is average." explained Iruka. "Do you want to try?"  
"Yeah!" said Nass, looking at the scroll. It had two handsigns under the technique.  
"Ok, picture what you want to become, hold it in your mind, and perform the technique."

Nass closed his eyes, picturing someone he could imagine easily, and performing the handsigns.  
"Shinsei Henge!"

There was a puff of smoke, and Iruka was standing there with a smile.  
"Did it work?"  
"It worked." assured the real Iruka. "Why don't you practice a bit while I get the lesson ready?"  
"Ok!" smiled Nass, cancelling the technique with another handsign and beginning again.

* * *

The test was almost complete. One person had failed after performing abysmally in everything, a couple more failing due to severely ineffective single techniques. Only thing left to test was Henge.

"Henge!" called one student, changing into a copy of Iruka.

Everyone seemed to do that.

"Ok, pass!" said Iruka. "Nass, your next!"

Someone hissed at him as he walked up.  
"You're gonna fail! You never could do this!"

"Shinsei Henge!" he said, performing the two handsigns and vanishing in the smoke.

It faded, and standing there was a girl, maybe fifteen, long black hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a very tight, rather revealing shirt and skirt.

She winked at the boy who had insulted her, and blew a kiss.

He collapsed unconscious, blood streaming from his nose.

Iruka sniffed to keep his own nose clear.  
"Pass. But did you have to do that? At least you had clothes…" he said.  
Nasshi smiled, and looked thoughtful.  
"I swear to the Shodaime, if you do it without clothes I'm failing you." said Iruka bluntly.

Someone sniggered.

Nass looked at them, fluttering her eyebrows.

There was silence.

"Please change back now." said Iruka weakly. A little blood was running down his cheek...

* * *

"Team five, Nara Ikumi, Henteko Nasshi, Ikoyou Kana." said Iruka. "Your sensei will be Gekko Hayate."

Yes, it was odd to have a team with two girls. But the class seemed to have far more girls than normal, reflected Iruka. Besides, that was the only balanced team he could come up with. Ah well. Hayate had agreed to teach them as a personal favour to Iruka, and he was sure it would turn out well.

Well, he hoped.

* * *

"Good morning. My name is Gekko Hayate." said the ninja. He was young, maybe nineteen, with brown hair and a headband worn like a bandana over his head. He was wearing a flak jacket, as well as the standard Konohan ninja outfit worn by many of its ninja.  
"You are Nara Ikumi, Henteko Nasshimaru and Ikoyou Kana?" he asked.

They nodded.

"Why don't you tell me a little about yourselves?" he asked. "Ikumi-san, why don't you start?"

The girl nodded. She had brown hair in a short ponytail, and blue eyes, She wasn't ugly, but she wasn't beautiful either. She wore a brown jacket and a black t-shirt and trousers, with her headband firmly tied around her forehead. A small pouch, presumably for shuriken, was at her side.  
"Hello. I'm Nara Ikumi, and I want to become powerful so I can prove that not all of my clan are lazy." she said, a little hotly.

"Nice to meet you, Ikumi-san." said Hayate. "Nasshimaru-san?"

"I'm Henteko Nasshimaru, and I want to be famous, so I can walk down a street and hear people chant my name!" said the boy. His eyes were far away. Now, unlike earlier, there were a pair of katana strapped to his back. His parents had been renowned kenjutsu specialists, and Iruka had said the boy had some skill as well.

"Interesting. And Kana-san?"

The last member of the team had long, silver hair down to her waist, and deep green eyes. Now she WAS beautiful. She was wearing a white dress, and over that

"Well… you know my name, I'm Ikoyou Kana, and um… I don't really want anything…" said the third girl, looking in any direction but at Nasshimaru.

"Ok, well that's interesting to know." said Hayate.

_So._ He thought. _We have a clan member who wants to prove something, a boy who wants to be known, and a girl who is blatantly secretly in love. Right. _

Hayate sighed aloud.

"Alright, can you three meet me in training ground seventeen tomorrow morning for the last test before you become genin?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" shouted Ikumi.  
"We've already passed it!" complained Nasshi.  
"But… we did the test…" said Kana.

"Sorry. You've demonstrated skill, but there's one important thing we need to know you have before we can truly make you a team." said Hayate. "I'll see you tomorrow at seven. Don't eat breakfast, but bring lunch."

The three exchanged glances.

"No way am I failing. And you two are coming with me." said Ikumi.  
"Then… how do we work it out?"

Nasshi smiled.  
"Easy! I'll ask Iruka!"

* * *

"I can't tell you what it's about…" began Iruka.

He looked at the three genin, their heads close together as they stared at him.

He smiled.

"But I think you've already cracked it. The most important part of being a ninja is teamwork. Remember that. And now I really can't tell you more." said Iruka.  
"Good luck."

* * *

Seven AM. The three genin were waiting by a group of three large logs. In a swirl of leaves Hayate appeared.

"Good morning. Today you three are going to take the Bell Test. These are two bells. Whoever gets a bell passes. Whoever doesn't is sent back to the academy. You have until noon to get the bells, and anyone who fails doesn't get to eat lunch." said Hayate.

He felt cruel, to be honest. He'd had to go through this test once. Anything but good times, they had been.

* * *  
_1 AK  
_* * *

"_Damnit, Hayate! Come on!" raged the boy.  
"Sorry, you failed it. You don't get to eat." said Hayate. "There isn't anything I can do. We promised Tatsuya-san."  
"Hayate, just give him some food." said Yugao. "Sensei's not watching." _

_With that, she passed some to her teammate._

"_Oh, but I am." said Awaoni Tatsuya, a smile on his face.  
"Ah." said Yugao, caught in the act.  
"You all pass." said Tatsuya._

"_What?" said the three genin._

* * *  
_8 AK  
_* * *

Hayate sighed.  
_Good luck. _He thought.

* * *

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" called Ikumi.

A shadow shot forwards, grabbing Hayate.

Not able to turn around, he called out.  
"So, what are you going to do now?"

Ikumi cursed, released the technique and ran into the forest.

* * *

There was a clashing of blades as two katana met.

And then a cry of pain as metal cut flesh.

Hayate winced as he held his hands together.  
"I'd be impressed, but this is a genjutsu. A good one, but still. Kai."

The cut, and the pain, faded away. Nasshimaru was panting, one black bladed katana in front of him and another to the side.

He was cut, quite a lot.

He swore quietly and used Shunshin.

* * *

Hayate dodged, quickly, quickly, quickly.

One fist struck his side, an explosion of pain rippling through him.

Wow, that was an effective taijutsu style.

He swung his katana at Kana's head, and she escaped with kawarimi.  
A cloud of shuriken flew towards him, and he scattered them with a swing of his weapon.

Then silence.

_Wonderful. They've all run for it…_ said Hayate.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!"

* * *  
_Some minutes later  
_* * *

"Hey! Nass!" called Ikumi, quietly and urgently. "You know this is impossible. We can't beat him, unless we all work together. You tried. Kana tried. I tried twice."

Nasshi turned to her, looking up from his hiding place under the trees, into the branches where she was standing nonchalantly.  
"There's only two bells." he said.  
"Nass-kun, you can have mine." said Kana from behind him. "I couldn't stand a chance."  
"You hit him!" said Ikumi, annoyed. "Better than us."

Suddenly, Nass' face lit up.  
"I've got a plan."

* * *

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" called Ikumi again.

Hayate groaned as he was caught again.  
"What this time? A shuriken standoff?" he asked.

"Nope." said someone behind us.  
"We figured it out… sensei." said another voice.

Nasshi and Kana.

They took the two bells. Kana pocketed one, and Nass thre the other to Ikumi, who reached out to catch it, laughing as Hayate moved to catch air.

"What about you, Nass? Sacrificing yourself?"  
"Nope. I would, but… why bother? Mono Shinsei Henge." he said, holding a kunai that he had just looped onto Hayate's belt.

There was a small puff of smoke, and the kunai changed into a bell.

"Done." said Ikumi sweetly, releasing her technique.

The three of them moved to stand together.

Hayate smiled.

Arrogant Ikumi, random Nasshi, lovelorn Kana. This could be interesting.

It could also be very, very powerful.

"Congratulations. You know it's about teamwork, which isn't hard, but you managed to put it into practice. Oh, and solve an unsolvable problem. I'll meet you on the fourteenth training ground at eight tomorrow. Congratulations." he said, before leaving, a satisfied smile on his face. He had to tell Iruka.

The three stared at where he had stood.

Ikumi whooped.

Nasshi shouted.  
"Yees!"  
Kana turned and kissed Nasshimaru.

Silence.

"She likes you." whispered Ikumi pointlessly in his ear.  
"…yeah…" said Nasshimaru.

Kana blushed brightly, and formed a shunshin.

* * *

_Hope you like. _

Henge-Transformation  
Kawarimi-Replacement  
Bunshim-Clone  
Shinsei Henge-True Transformation  
Kagemane no Jutsu-Shadow Imitation Technique  
Mono Shinsei Henge-Object True Transformation


	2. Training

_Early update cause I love this fic at the moment._

Chapter 2-First Mission

"Sensei, when are we gonna start on missions?" said Ikumi, angrily. "We've been training for weeks!"  
"Well, if you'd prefer to have some D-ranks, you can be weeding in an hour." said Hayate, smiling slightly. "Or you can do this training exercise. Your choice."

The three quickly agreed that they wanted a training exercise. Not that they hadn't had enough of them. In the last week they had practised taijutsu, ninjutsu, specialist techniques, teamwork, chakra control and every other aspect of being a ninja.

Hayate picked three pieces of paper from his weapons pouch.  
"Do you three know about chakra natures?" he asked.

Nasshi and Kana nodded, Ikumi shaking her head.

Hayate explained.

"There are five chakra natures, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth and Water. Each one of them has an advantage over the one after, and a weakness to the one before." said Hayate.

"What about the snow ninja?" asked Kana hesitantly.

"They don't count." said Hayate. "Please don't complicate things. These pieces of paper are designed to react to your chakra. They will tell you what your natural chakra affinity is, and techniques of that element will always be easier for you." he said, handing them out to the three genin.

"Some sensei prefer to wait until finding this out so they naturally learn more varied techniques. I think ninja should be the best at what they're good at, not all right at everything. I want you to channel chakra through the paper. If you're fire elemental, the paper will burn. Wind chakra will split the paper. Lightning chakra crumples it. Earth chakra turns it to dust, and water chakra makes it soggy." said Hayate.

The three genin concentrated.

Quickly, Nasshi's paper split into two, Ikumi's paper disintegrated, and Kana's…

Kana's paper frosted over, and split into several fragments that fell to the floor, more like heavy shards than paper.

"Wind, Earth… and Ice." said Hayate. "Kana, do you know why this could be?"  
"My mother was from the land of snow." she said.  
Hayate nodded.

"Nasshi, get a leaf, and focus chakra. Try to split it. Ikumi, kneel on the floor, put down your palms, and try to feel the earth. Lift soil into the air. Kana… could you practice some taijutsu for a bit? I don't know how to train an ice element, they're very rare. I think there's one in Konoha, I'll try and find her. While I'm at it I'll look for a wind and an earth. Ok?"

The three genin nodded.

"Right."

Hayate left with a shunshin.

Ikumi knelt onto the ground as Nasshi went looking for a leaf, and Kana found a training post.

Within minutes, Ikumi had lost patience with her attempt at forcing earth chakra into the ground, and had returned to her favourite pastime. Needling Nass and Kana about their kiss.

Within a couple more minutes, Kana was blushing so red she could have been on fire, and Nass was on the other side of the training field muttering something about how he had the 'rotten luck to have the only Nara awake enough to tease him.'

Hayate arrived, three ninja with him.  
"Nara Ikumi, Henteko Nasshimaru, Ikoyou Kana. This is Asuma Sarutobi, Inuzaka Tsume and Fukaifuyu Aoi." said Hayate, introducing the two groups.

"Hey." said Ikumi, standing up.  
"Nice to meet you." said Nass, smiling and dropping his leaf.  
"H…hai." stuttered Kana.

"Hello." replied Asuma.  
"Hn. Greetings." said Tsume.  
"Good to meet you all. Hello, Kana" said Aoi with a bow. Kana blushed.

For those who don't know, Sarutobi Asuma was a jounin, the son of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage. He was tallish, with black hair, a beard and a cigarette, wearing the typical Konoha flak jacket.

Inuzaka Tsume was a tall woman, with spiky black hair, red fang markings like the rest of her clan, and a scowl. She also had one of the flak jackets.

Fukaifuyu Aoi was a shorter woman, with silver hair down to her back in the same style as Kana's, blue eyes and a white kimono. She was smiling, very deeply, slightly oddly.

"Asuma is a wind element, and Tsume is an earth element. Aoi says that you know her, Kana."

Kana nodded.  
"H… hai, she's my aunt."  
"Ok. Well, if the three of you can help my genin I'd be very appreciative." said Hayate quietly.

"Of course." said Asuma.  
"I suppose."grunted Tsume.  
"Happily." said Aoi, still smiling that strange smile at Kana.

"Thank you." said Hayate.

Nasshi went over to Asuma, Ikumi to Tsume, and Kana to Aoi.

"Hayate-sensei said you could help me with wind manipulation. He showed me this training technique with a leaf, but I can't do it…" said Nasshi.  
"Wind manipulations are very rare. I don't know if there are any others in the village. It's actually considered the hardest nature to learn, as it's hard to use without something to channel it through." said Asuma.  
"Channel?" asked Nasshi.  
"Well, I channel wind chakra through my knives. It makes them much sharper and stronger." said Asuma.  
"Cool. I want to be able to do that." said Nasshi.

Asuma laughed.

"Well, the main tip with wind chakra is to think of it as two sharp blades, rubbing against each other and forming a razor sharp, incredibly thin blade of chakra." explained Asuma.

Nass nodded, and concentrated on his leaf.  
"Thin, sharp, thin, sharp…" he muttered.

* * *

"Right, so you know the dirt exercise. You done anything yet?" asked Tsume.  
"No. It's hard." said Ikumi.  
"No, it's not. Any idiot can do it. You just focus charka into the ground, feel the earth and pull up. **Any **idiot can do it."  
"Are you calling me an idiot?" demanded Ikumi.  
"What are you going to do about it?" replied Tsume.  
"Kagemane no Jutsu!" shouted Ikumi.  
Tsume leapt into the air.  
"Tsuuga!" she shouted.

Tsume spiralled towards Ikumi in a tornado of spinning blows.  
Hayate appeared between them, a blast of sudden wind from his appearance blowing Ikumi to the floor, as he grabbed Tsume, stopping her spinning and deflecting her.

"Tsume, please don't attack my genin. Ikumi, show respect to the other jonin, thank you."

He let go of Tsume, who scowled.  
"Right. Well. Working with earth chakra is easy. You have to feel like stone. Unmovable, unstoppable, unbeatable. Shouldn't be a problem, for you, if you'll take on a jounin." explained Tsume.

"Right." said Ikumi.  
She started concentrating, then stopped.  
"I would totally have won, by the way."

"Keep dreaming."

* * *

"Kana, I'm so happy to finally be able to teach this to you. I hope your mother won't be too upset." said Aoi.  
"Sh…she won't mind as Hayate said to..." stuttered Kana.  
"I'm glad." said Aoi, smiling beatifically. She picked a bucket that was lying on the ground, disused, and performed a series of handsigns. "Suiton: Mizusoushi no Jutsu."

The bucket filled with water that sprayed from Aoi's hands.  
"I want you to put your hands in here, and circulate your chakra through it. It should become cold. When it's frozen, you will have done well." she explained.  
"Um… how long should it take?" asked Kana, timidly.  
"It takes me a minute to freeze it solid. It could take you an hour." said Aoi.  
Kana nodded, and began.  
"Ice chakra should be cold, disciplined, emotionless. Think of that as well as you can, concentrate on it." said Aoi.  
"H… hai." said Kana.

* * *  
_Some days later  
_* * *

"I DID IT I DID IT!" shouted Ikumi, dirt falling to the ground all around her.  
"Well done." said Tsume, a slight smile showing on her face. "Now you have to do this."

The jounin kneeled, putting her palms to the ground.  
Seconds later, a ball of mud tore itself from the earth, rising up, and then falling to the ground and turning into a splat.

Ikumi groaned.

"At least you beat Nasshi at his." remarked Asuma from further over in the clearing.  
"OH YEAH!" shouted Nasshi, lifting a leaf and showing it off. "See that?"

Silence.

"See what?" asked Ikumi.  
"That! It's a cut!" exclaimed Nasshi.

Everyone stared closely.

"It is. Just." said Asuma.

"Very impressive." said Hayate, smiling slightly. "But I'm going to have to ask you to stop for a bit. We have a mission."

"A mission?" asked Ikumi. "What? Capture that stupid cat or something? That's what my uncle warned me about."  
"Actually, the council accepts either a series of D-ranks or an extensive training course as credentials for a C-rank. Congratulations, you get to start with a C-rank." said Hayate, smiling slightly.

Silence.

"YOU ROCK!" shouted Ikumi.  
Nasshi did a small, and in fact quite embarrassing victory dance.  
Kana just smiled.

"It's a guarding mission, taking place for one month for a small village near the sea, and the Kirigakure border."  
"And they're letting us do that? Really?" asked Ikumi.  
"Yes, three genin and four jonin." said Hayate. "Let's go to the Hokage."

He, Asuma, Nasshi, Kana and Aoi left, all understanding.  
Tsume and Ikumi stared at each other. Then it clicked.  
"Oh crap." they said.


	3. Kiri

…_yeah… I REALLY like this fic at the moment…_

Chapter 3-Kiri

"We've already been here a week. When the hell is something going to happen!" shouted Ikumi.  
"Nothing happening is GOOD, you IDIOT!" shouted Tsume. "Why, do you WANT to fight a jonin?"  
"I already have, don't you remember the time I owned you in training?" replied Ikumi.  
"Yeah right. You would have ran out of chakra before I did." said Tsume with scorn. "You would've collapsed from exhaustion before you thought of something clever."  
"I'm a certified GENIUS, dog-breath." said Ikumi.  
"What. Did you just call me?" said Tsume through gritted teeth.

"Please, split this up." said Asuma. "If you have to beat seven kinds of crap out of each other, do it on the training field."

The two Kunoichi vanished off into the rainy woods outside of their temporary home, and cries of Kagemane no Jutsu and Tsuuga reverberated.

"Asuma-sensei! I did it!" said Nass, from the corner of the building. He lifted up a leaf, cut cleanly in half.  
"Well done." said Asuma, smiling. "The next exercise is harder."  
"…harder?" said Nasshi, worried.  
"Harder." said Asuma, walking outside. He returned a short time later, holding a small pebble. "You have to split this."

Silence.

"You are KIDDING me." said Nasshi.

* * *

"Um… how long do we have now?" asked Kana, as rain pattered down around them.  
"Not long, we can go and get Tsume and Ikumi soon." said Aoi pleasantly.

Hayate signalled for them to be quiet by holding up a finger.  
A scream rang out.

"Kana, get the others." said Hayate quietly. "Aoi, follow me."  
Kana nodded.  
"Hai."

She ran back towards the house, and Hayate and Aoi began to home in on the direction of the scream.

Quickly, they found the scene.

A young woman was cowering from a pair of ninja, wearing scratched out headbands, one female, from Kirigakure, and the other male, from the land of snow.  
A shuriken slashed past the woman's head as she dodged just in time. She turned, looking at Hayate and Aoi and smiling beatifically.

The man called out.  
"Hey! There are some leaf-nin here. Should be some fun."  
The woman laughed musically, and said to the woman on the ground.  
"We'll be back for you soon."

Hayate drew the katana from his back, and Aoi began a series of handsigns.  
"Hyoton: Tsurarayari."

Moisture condensed from the rain into a cloud of razor sharp icicles, each pointed at the two ninja.  
With a flick of her fingers, Aoi sent the deadly attack towards the two ninja.  
"Hyoton: Shimobenkai." said the man, and more water condensed into a shimmering barrier that stopped the icicles from hitting the two.  
"Suiton: Mizu Doragon no Jutsu." said the woman, still with that unsettling smile.

A dragon formed of mist appeared in the air, eyes glowing a deep blue. It charged towards Hayate and Aoi.  
Hayate slashed his sword through it, destroying it and leapt forwards.  
"Mikazuki no Mai!" he said.  
Another two of him formed, and the three ran forwards as the pair.  
A senbon slashed into each of their throats, and they vanished.

The real Hayate fell on them from above.  
"Hyoton: Aicubakuha!" barked the man, a spray of tiny, sharp ice fragments bombarding Hayate, drawing a thousand droplets of blood and distracting him while they dodged.

Another three ninja appeared nearby, two male and one female.  
"Yo, Emiri, Baen, you called." said one, a male ninja with a Sunagakure headband.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" called Ikumi, from behind Aoi. Asuma, Nasshi, Tsume and Kana were with her, as well as Tsume's companion Kuromaru.

Her shadow stretched out, striking that of the Sand-nin.  
Asuma landed, practically on top of the ninja, and cut his throat with his wind-enhanced blades.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" said Ikumi again, snaking out her shadow towards both the other new arrivals.  
They were both caught, the female an ex-rock-nin, the male a missing-nin from Mizugakure.

"Gatsuuga!" cried Tsume after throwing a pill to her companion. The two launched themselves into spirals that crashed into the immobile ninja, knocking them down.  
Nasshi ran after them, his katana unsheathed.  
He closed his eyes, and slashed it across the two's throats, killing them.

Kana ran forwards to the first two ninja, jumping and spinning in mid air, throwing a flurry of attacks at them, flowing from one to the next.

The Idoyou taijutsu, while not as powerful, old, nor as unique as the Jyuken, was nonetheless powerful. Based on the chakra releasing punches of the legendary Tsunade, each part of the body wals imbued with chakra that was released on impact, allowing even a glancing blow to break bones. Thus, with the strength so unimportant, their style relied on hitting as often as possible.

Kana was skilled in this style, but the ninja she was attacking both outnumbered and outclassed her.

"Suirou no Jutsu." said the woman, holding out his palms after a short group of handsigns, drawing water from the rain and forming a sphere of water to trap Kana in place.

Nasshi growled, and charged forwards.  
"Hakumei Nayami!" he shouted.

The sky went dark, and the two rogue ninja felt weary, their limbs heavy, almost injured. But their opponents were not, looking healthy, happy, perfectly well.

There was just a second of doubt.  
"Kai!" shouted the man, dispelling the genjutsu.

But Nasshi's sword slashed through both of them.

Water sprayed from both their bodies, and they vanished, turning into water.

Kana fell to the floor, soaked but unhurt.  
There was quiet.

"We did it!" shouted Ikumi.  
"Course we did." grunted Tsume with a smile.  
"Yeah… but they got away." said Nasshi, deep in thought.

"Thank you so much!" cried the woman from the ground.

They were startled. They'd forgotten about her…  
"I… I can tell you where they are hiding." she said hesitantly. "But you have to drive them off…"

Hayate nodded.  
"We'll make them leave this place if we have to kill them."

She told them. It was a place on the river, some miles away.  
"How do we get in?" asked Aoi.  
"I know." smiled Nasshi. "Henge. Well, Shinsei Henge."

* * *

_Aaaand… chapter end. Isn't plot fun? Aren't battles MORE fun?_

* * *

Kagemane no Jutsu-Shadow Possession Technique  
Tsuuga-Piercing Fang  
Hyoton: Tsurarayari-Ice Release: Icicle Spears  
Hyoton: Shimobenkai-Ice Release: Frost Defence  
Suiton: Mizu Doragon no Jutsu-Water Release: Mist Dragon Technique  
Hyoton: Aicubakuha-Ice Release: Ice Blast  
Gatsuuga-Dual Piercing Fang (or) Fang over Fang  
Suirou no Jutsu-Water Prison Technique  
Hakumei Nayami-Twilight Agony  
Mizu Bunshin-Water Clone  
Shinsei Henge-True Transformation


	4. Trickery

_Heya! Chapter four, I think!_

Chapter 4-Trickery

"Um… I'm here with the tribute…" said a girl, shyly. She was in front of a large door, to a big hut. She was black haired, the hair up in a ponytail, and had green eyes. She held a bag, presumably containing money.

The door opened, and the male snow ninja from before stepped out.  
"And can I trust you!?" he asked, grabbing the girls hand, holding his other hand behind his back, concentrating.

There was a few seconds of painful silence.

"Nope, you aren't a henge." he said thoughtfully. "But there are strong chakra signatures around."

He grabbed her other hand, bringing his face close to hers.  
"Now, if you've set us up," he said, reasonably. "Our group is going to enjoy ourselves. And you're going to wish you were dead. Unless you enjoy that kind of thing, I suppose."

He released her, putting away the kunai behind his back as he did.

"Come in."

Inside, the girl looked around very, very carefully. There were maybe seven or eight of the ninja in there, including the two from before, the male snow ninja apparently called Bane, and the female mist ninja called Emiri. Other than them, there were six more, one from Konoha, one from Kumo, two from Suna, one from the Land of Snow, Yukigakure and one from Iwa.

"Okay, girl, give me that bag." said the only woman, Emiri.  
The girl, trembling slightly, gave it to her.

Emiri snatched it, looked inside and picked out a golden coin, scraping a kunai against it, cutting into it.

"Good. Now scram, girl, unless you want some… fun." said one of the other ninja.

The girl literally ran out of the door.

When she was out of sight, she vanished in a puff of smoke.  
Henteko Nasshimaru sighed, wiping sweat from his face and grinning.  
"I am an awesome actor. And that technique ROCKS."  
Kana giggled, and Ikumi burst out.  
"What did you learn, idiot!?"  
"Calm down." said Nass. "There are seven of them, including the snow and the water ninja. There's only one entrance I could see, but they're all heavily armed. I think the woman is one of the seven shinobi swordsmen… she's got two thin katana over her back." he finished.

"What are we waiting for?" roared Tsume.  
"The element of surprise." said Hayate.  
"Good idea." said Asuma.  
"Tonight." promised Aoi.

Both Tsume and Ikumi looked annoyed.

* * *

"Kagemane no Jutsu." whispered Ikumi.

Her shadow stretched through the twilight, capturing those of the older ninja in the building after sliding under the door.

"Hyoton: Nadarebakuha!" said Aoi.  
From nowhere a blast of ice slammed into the building demolishing the front wall with a rolling wall of snow and sound.

Hayate, Asuma, Tsume, Kana and Nasshi charged in over the snow.

Most of the enemy ninja had extricated themselves from the neck deep snow by the time they reached them. Except one, whose neck had snapped in the attack.  
The six of them stood, the female, Emiri, unsheathing her two katana.  
"Oh, this time we're serious." she said.

Hayate ran towards her, drawing his own weapon.

Slash, parry, cut, thrust.  
Lightning fast the girl attacked, spinning through the air, as much dancing as fighting, and almost as fast Hayate blocked, receiving cuts faster than he was accustomed to.  
A nasty riposte caught Emiri on the arm as she jumped, disabling one arm.  
She almost dropped her weapon as her hand lost most control, and she sheathed it.  
"Lucky shot." she said.  
But she was worried.

Tsume and Kuromaru attacked the centre, their Gatsuuga tearing into them.  
One of the enemy ninja didn't get up again.

Asuma's trench knives cut through one ninja, and then span and slew another.

Kana's taijutsu distracted another just enough for Nass to take his head off.

Aoi ran forwards towards the last, Baen and began a technique.  
"Hyoton: Shimoarashi!"

A cloud of icy particles flew towards the opposing ninja, shasing into him.

"Hyoton: Aicudoragon!" he shouted in retaliation.  
From the air itself a huge dragon formed, of icy water and mist.  
It flew towards Aoi.

"Futon: Kazekire!"  
Winds slashed through it, cutting it into small fragments of ice.  
The winds slashed forwards, cutting at Baen the ice-nin, knocking him over.

In a flash, Aoi was at his throat with a kunai.

"Mikazuki no Mai!" shouted Hayate.  
There was a flash, and three of him charged towards Emiri.  
She used a huge amount of handsigns, muttering something, and then shouted.  
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"

The ice around the building instantly melted, and a huge dragon of water appeared, spiralling around and destroying all three Hayate.  
But the fourth, the real one slashed through its neck, landing with his sword against Emiri's neck.

Baen and Emiri were now the only two visible.

"What do you want from us?" asked Baen.  
"Leave and do not return." said Hayate.

A blast of icy wind came flying from under a table, slamming into Hayate's chest and knocking him onto the floor.

Instantly, three kunai slashed into the space under the table, and the snow ninja underneath fell out, dead.

The two rogue ninja sighed.  
"Fool." said Emiri. "We agree to your terms."  
"That one will be fine as long as he's kept warm." said Baen, looking at Hayate.

They reluctantly let the two stand up, and leave.

"Why didn't we kill them?" complained Ikumi.  
"No need." said Aoi. "They're not in the Bingo Book, we wouldn't get anything for them."  
"Well, we're done now. Home!" said Nass.  
"No. This is a month long guard mission. Still three weeks to go." pointed out Aoi.  
Both Ikumi, Nass and Tsume groaned.

* * *  
_Three weeks later_  
* * *

"Congratulations." said the hokage. "On your first successful mission. In fact, I think Hayate had some good news?"  
The jonin ninja nodded, coughing a little.  
"I've entered the three of you for the Chunin exams. Good luck, we're heading to Iwagakure in a week."

* * *

Shinsei Henge-True Transformation  
Kagemane no Jutsu-Shadow Imitation Technique  
Hyoton: Nadarebakuha-Ice Release: Avalanche Blast  
Gatsuuga-Dual Piercing Fang/Fang over Fang  
Hyoton: Shimoarashi-Ice Release: Froststorm  
Hyoton: Aicudoragon-Ice Release: Ice Dragon  
Futon: Kazekire-Wind Release: Wind Cut  
Mikazuki no Mai-Dance of the Crescent Moon  
Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu-Water Release: Water Dragon Missile Technique

* * *

_End. Yay._


	5. Bonus Chapter: Canon

_BONUS CHAPTER_

_I said that this was an AU. This is going to describe the exact moment when my storyline divulged from the canon._

_Meaning, in my version of canon, THIS chapter happened, leading to Naruto as seen in the anime and very happy…_

Disclaimer-I do not own Naruto, but I do own my original characters.

Bonus Chapter-Canon

Henteko Nasshimaru was wondering what to do. The exam was today, and apparently it included henge, his weakest technique. He might get through on the strength of his genjutsu and kenjutsu, but…

He saw Iruka, and he almost shouted after him, to ask for help.  
Then he didn't. He was gonna do this on his own.

* * *

"Henge!" cried Nasshi.  
There was quiet, as the smoke cleared.

And there stood a perfect copy of Iruka.

Everyone was surprised, none more so than Nass. He smiled, turning back into himself.

"Pass." said Iruka with a smile.

* * *

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" called Ikumi.

Hayate groaned as he was caught.  
"What this time? A shuriken standoff?" he asked.

"Nope." said someone behind him.  
"We figured it out… sensei." said another voice.

Nasshi and Kana.

They took the two bells. Kana pocketed one, and Nass threw the other to Ikumi, who reached out to catch it, laughing as Hayate moved to catch air.

"What about you, Nass? Sacrificing yourself?" asked Hayate.  
"Nope. I would, but… why bother? Mono Henge." he said, holding a kunai that he had just looped onto Hayate's belt.

There was a small puff of smoke, and the kunai changed to look like a bell.

"Done." said Ikumi sweetly, releasing her technique.

The three of them moved to stand together.

Hayate smiled.

Arrogant Ikumi, random Nasshi, lovelorn Kana. This could be interesting.

It could also be very, very powerful.

"Congratulations. You know it's about teamwork, which isn't hard, but you managed to put it into practice. Oh, and solve an unsolvable problem. I'll meet you on the fourteenth training ground at eight tomorrow. Congratulations." he said, before leaving, a satisfied smile on his face. He had to tell Iruka.

The three stared at where he had stood.

Ikumi whooped.

Nasshi shouted.  
"Yees!"  
Kana turned and kissed Nasshimaru.

Silence.

"She likes you." whispered Ikumi pointlessly in his ear.  
"…yeah…" said Nasshimaru.

Kana blushed brightly, and formed a shunshin.

* * *

"Um… I'm here with the tribute…" said a girl, shyly. She was in front of a large door, to a big hut. She was black haired, the hair up in a ponytail, and had green eyes. She held a bag, presumably containing money.

The door opened, and the male snow ninja, Baen, came out.  
"And can I trust you!?" he asked, grabbing the girls hand, holding his other hand behind his back, concentrating.

There was a few seconds of painful silence.

"Apparently not." he said, drawing a kunai and bringing it slashing towards the girl's neck.

Blood spurting from her beck, as she slumped to the ground, before changing back into the dead form of Henteko Nasshimaru.

A cry of anger came from the distance, and then a loud cry.  
"Kasai Kobushi no Jutsu!"

Kana ran forwards, her hands glowing a bright red, and she began to slam her palms repeatedly into the snow ninja, each strike throwing him backwards, leaving a scorched imprint on him.

The devastating onslaught left him dead within seconds, but Kana continued to destroy his remains, until a shuriken slashed into the back of her neck, and she collapsed to the floor.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" cried another voice.

A shadow stretched towards the direction the shuriken had come from capturing someone, and a flash ran past them, a katana beheading the ninja.

"Hyoton: Nadarebakuha!" cried another voice, as the katanba wielding ninja left the building, and a rolling wall of ice and snow demolished the building.

Five ninja left the remains of the building, one female from Mist, Emiri, then one from Kumo, one from Suna, one more Snow-nin and one traitor from Konoha.

"Raiton: Raikouyari!" cried the Cloud ninja. A bolt of lightning flashed through the air, striking its target in the distance. Invisible to the rogue ninja, Ikumi collapsed;

"GATSUUGA!"  
Two spinning forms slashed over the distance, closing in under a second, a spiralling wind of strikes.  
The Kumo and Konoha ninja were both slain by Tsume's attack.

"Futon: Kazekire!" cried the sand traitor.

A wind slashed into the trees where the team were hiding.  
The only three ninja left alive from the Konohan team were Inuzaka Tsume, Sarutobi Asuma and Gekko Hayate.

A slash from Asuma's blades killed the Suna-nin.

From the shadows Hayate reappeared, slashing his katana across Emiri's neck.

A blast of icy wind slashed into Hayate from the Snow ninja, the torrent continuing for a good few seconds before a kunai slammed into him.  
He smiled, blood leaking from his mouth.  
"That'll do. Whatever happens, you'll never recover fully form that."  
Another kunai slashed into his eye.

Tsume picked up Hayate's unconscious body, and left, Asuma following

* * *  
_12 AK  
_* * *

"I'm Gekko Hayate (Cough), your proctor for the third exam." said Hayate, dully.

* * *

Henge-Transformation  
Kagemane no Jutsu-Shadow Imitation Technique  
Mono Henge-Object Transformation  
Kasai Kobushi no Jutsu-Fire Fist Technique  
Hyoton: Nadarebakuha-Ice Release: Avalanche Blast  
Raiton: Raikouyari-Lightning Release: Lightning Spear  
Gatsuuga-Dual Piercing Fang  
Futon: Kazekire-Wind Release: Wind Cut

_Wow, I never killed off that many characters before… even in non canon…  
Oh well. There was one important clue for the future in that chapter. :) See if you can find it._


	6. The Exam Begins

_Actual chapter 5!_

Chapter 5-Exam

"Good luck" said Hayate. "You'll need it.  
"Yeah right. The only people who need luck is anyone who gets in my way." said Ikumi.  
Nasshi rolled his eyes.  
Kana giggled.

"I'll be waiting outside here." said Hayate, before leaving.

"_I remember my chunin exam."_ thought Hayate.

* * *  
_1 AK  
_* * *

"_Katon: Doragan Bakuha!" cried Hayate's teammate Kaito.  
The blast of flames annihilated everything in its path, leaving the enemy ninja unconscious.  
Hayate stepped forwards and took a slightly charred scroll from the enemies.  
"Do you think we should go to the tower now?" asked Yugao.  
"We could attack some other teams. Take out the competition." said Hayate quietly.  
"Its risky." said Hayate. "We could just end up getting defeated, there are some strong teams out there."  
"He's right." said Kaito.  
"Yeah, I suppose." said Yugao._

_A couple of hours later they made a record as the fastest team to the tower, one to be annihilated only eleven years later, by the famous Jinchuriki Sabaku no Gaara._

* * *  
_8 AK  
_* * *

Nasshi, Kana and Ikumi opened the large doors, entering a large, open space, next to a sheer cliff. There were hundreds of tunnels built into the wall, each marked with a number, all spread wide apart from each other.

There was a crowd of ninja gathering, over next to a large, stone platform. On top a large, physically imposing ninja was standing.  
"Alright, listen up!" he shouted.

Nasshi, Kana and Ikumi walked over to the crowd.  
"This test is simple. Go down one of those tunnels, take one of these stone Sigils from another team, find someone who can show you the way out. There are one hundred and two of you here. There are twenty guides down there waiting for you, Iwa volunteer citizens. Go to one of my attendants to get a sigil, then go and wait next to one of the entrances that no-one has entered. In a few minutes we'll open them. When you reach the end of the network, you will have to show at least two sigils to the guards to get out. The test lasts for three days, but speed is vital." said the announcer.

Nasshi looked at Kana and Ikumi, and with a nod they walked towards one of the attendants. There was a short queue, and then they got one of the sigils, a small, circular silver coin with the Iwa symbol carved into it.

Then they headed for one of the caves, the number seventeen marked above it. There was a small gateway within.

It was a few minutes of waiting, in which Ikumi started pacing and Nasshi tried to balance on one foot, before a cry rang out, and all of the gates unlocked.

They ran into the dark tunnels.

Almost immediately, the tunnels branched off into three, then another three, then another three.

Within minutes the genin had absolutely lost track of where they were, heading at full speed through the tunnels.

But soon enough, they found a large cavern, a wide open space that seemed to be empty. Apart from three short figures, all ninja.

The three turned to see Ikumi and her team.  
They were Iwa nin, one, the tallest of the three, very thin, his gaunt face framed with brown hair. The shortest was well built, black haired and determined. The third had red hair, and a bokkan upon his back.

On seeing them, the first entered a taijutsu stance, the second getting a handful of shuriken, the third drawing his weapon.

Ikumi smiled, and said.  
"Kagemane no Jutsu."  
Her shadow stretched easily through the gloomy cavern, capturing the second ninja almost instantly, as Kana and Nasshimaru ran forwards to engage the others.

Nasshi drew his katanas from his back as the gaunt faced enemy entered a simple handsign, and said.  
"Ishi Kobushi no Jutsu."

Nass' blade sang for the ninja's blood, but his fist crashed into Nass' side.  
It was like being hit by a bulldozer as he was sent sprawling to the floor, quite a distance away.  
He saw the thin ninja attack Kana from behind, a single strike enough to down her as well.

The bokkan wielder shunshined, and slammed his own weapon into Ikumi's neck after a few muttered words, and she fell as if poleaxed.  
They rifled through her pockets, quickly finding the sigil she was carrying.

"Idiots." said the second ninja. "Come on, let's find a guide."

The three of them left the cavern.

Nass managed to get up reasonably quickly, as did Kana, but Ikumi was unconscious, her head bleeding.  
"Kana, you watch Ikumi. When she gets better, plan an ambush. I'm going to lead them through here." said Nass, before darting away with a shunshin.  
Kana almost said something, before she realised he was gone.  
"Be safe…" she whispered.

* * *

"So, how long do you think it'll be before we find one of these guides?" asked the shortest Iwa-nin.  
"About three seconds." said the tall one calmly, as they entered another larger cavern.  
"Why do you say that?" asked the first one.  
"Because she's there."  
"Denjiro, you're right too much." complained the short ninja again.

They stopped just in front of the guide. She had long, curly brown hair and brown eyes. She smiled.  
"You want me to show you the way out?"  
"Yeah, of course." said the short ninja again, impatiently.  
"Please, miss. I am Ikkyou Denjiro, and these are Taishu Katsutoshi and Mokusai Shinakio, my teammates." said the tallest of the three Iwa-nin, Denjiro, idicating the shorter one and the silent ninja with the bokkan.  
"Iwa will fall on the day the sun rises in the north." said Shinakio.

There was a brief silence.

"He does that." said Katsutoshi. "His family are a bit weird."  
"Blood speaks more than words." snapped Shinakio.  
"…I think that was an insult. Your mum." said Katsutoshi.  
"We have a job to do." cut in Denjiro. "Please, show us the way, miss… what's your name?"  
"Uh…Nanami." she said, quickly. "My name is Nanami."  
"Greetings, Nanami. Please show us the way." said Denjiro, with a short bow.

Nanami smiled, and began to run down the tunnel they had just come from.  
"It's back this way." she explained, before taking off.  
They followed her.  
"You can use chakra?" Katsutoshi asked when he saw the way she was running.  
"Yes, my mother was a ninja." she said, very quickly.  
"Ah, good. If you try and betray us by the way, we're going to enjoy ourselves." said Katsutoshi, with a very clear smile.  
Denjiro hit him round the head.  
"A bloodied day leads to a deathly night." said Shinakio with a scowl.

Nanami put on a burst of speed.

"_Why are all the people I meet perverted?_" she asked herself.

* * *

Katon: Doragon Bakuha-Fire Release: Dragon Blast  
Kagemane no Jutsu-Shadow Imitation Technique  
Ishi Kobushi no Jutsu-Stone Fist Technique  
Shunshin-Body Flicker

* * *

I like this story. :D


	7. Deceit

_To expand on my previous point, I like this story… a lot. :D_

_**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT**_

_I am considering making this an M rated story. There is a lot of room for M rated missions when Kunoichi are central, and I want to write them. There is a poll on my profile, please vote in it. When the Exam Arc is over, I will end the poll._

Chapter 6-Deceit

"Are we there yet?" asked Katsutoshi, the smallest of the three Iwa nin.  
"Umm… If I'm correct, we're only a few moments away." said Nanami.

She really needed to get where she was going SOON. It looked like Katsutoshi's perverted threat was just talk, but… she was not going to risk it.

Fortunately, the tunnel began to open up into a large chamber that she recognised.  
"Kai." she said, stopping instantly, the three Iwa nins going into the chamber.

Nasshi shook his head, drew one of his katana, and ran after the Iwa nin.

"Kage Nui no Jutsu!" shouted Ikumi.

Three tendrils of shadow stretched along, each one ensnaring one of the Iwa genin.

In that one technique, the three were disabled.

Kana walked along the three, and with an apologetic smile, made one strike to each of their heads.

The three crumpled, and Ikumi released her technique. She then rummaged through their belongings, finding another sigil quickly.  
"Now to get out." she said brightly.

The three set off down another tunnel.

* * *

"Are you a guide?" asked Ikumi, as soon as they found another non-ninja in the tunnels.  
"Yes, and-" said the man.  
"Then show us the way." instructed Ikumi.  
The guide looked wrongfooted, but nodded, and set off, running in the ninja method.  
Kana ran alongside him.  
"Erm… I'm sorry about Ikumi…"  
"Yeah, she's a bit… yeah." added Nasshi.

Ikumi sniffed, and ignored them.  
"_Stupid lovebirds._"

* * *

"This is as far as I go." said the guide. "It's around that corner."  
Ikumi nodded.  
"Kana, check for an ambush or anything."

Kana did so, returning with a shake of her head.  
"Too easy." sniffed Ikumi. "Right, let's go."

The three did so, and the guide left to find someone else who needed help.  
Following this last tunnel, they went around one corner, and then another, before encountering the end.

There were a pair of guards, and three doorways.  
"Greetings." said one of the guards. "Do you have two sigils?"  
Ikumi nodded, handing them both to him.

He looked at them closely, and nodded.  
"Congratulations. But you have one final challenge before the end of this stage of the exams." he said.

"What." growled Ikumi.

"There are three doors here. One leads to the next stage. Two lead to a painful death, and if you somehow survive them, you will be returned to the academy." he said. "But if you leave the way you came in, you will be allowed to try again."

Ikumi snorted.  
"We're trying. Got it?"

Nasshi held up his hands.  
"Whatever."

To be honest, he wasn't going to dare arguing with her.  
Kana nodded, a little scared of the driven Nara.

They went forwards.  
"That door." said Ikumi, pointing at the left one.

They opened it, walking through Kana with her eyes shut.  
Nothing happened, but the Ninja from the podium out front walked to them.

"Congratulations. Do you understand this last problem?"

Kana and Nasshi shook their heads, but Ikumi took a quick look back, and nodded.  
"Yes."  
"Exactly. It's about knowing that you might lose, but trying anyway."

Nasshimaru looked back, seeing the large three doors, and smiled.

"You have passed the first test. The second, and in fact last begins tomorrow, at the crack of…"  
Nasshi groaned.  
"Noon." said the Iwa-nin. He laughed. "Got you. Enjoy your night, rest up, practice…"

* * *

Kage Nui no Jutsu-Shadow Sewing Technique

* * *

_Wow… no original moves…_


	8. Battle

_Heyas! (Hugs all readers)  
YOU ALL ROCK._

Disclaimer-Well, I still don't own Naruto. Do however own ALL the Ocs, currently anyway.

Chapter Seven-Battle

"We're here." said Ikumi. "It's time."  
"Yeah, yeah…" sighed Nasshi.  
"You two had better win." threatened Ikumi. "'Til you get to me, of course."  
Nasshi rolled his eyes, and Kana nodded.

* * *

"Alright." said the Iwa nin in charge of the exams. "Today is going to be an elimination tournament. You are going to be working in teams of two." he declared.

Nasshi immediately looked at Kana.  
"Which we will choose." added the examiner.

Nasshi groaned.

"The first battle will be, Henteko Nasshimaru and Taishu Katsutoshi against Hataro Daichi and Hiratai Ryouta." said the Iwa proctor. "You have one hour to prepare."

The proctor continued to speak about the battles and teams, but Nasshi didn't hear any of it. He was too busy gawping at his partner.

The perverted Iwa-nin from earlier.

* * *

"I have to work with you?" said Katsutoshi.  
"I have to work with you?" said Nasshi simultaneously.

At that moment, they realised that actually, they probably could work together.

* * *

"Round 1, battle 1. Fight until one team admits defeat, is knocked unconscious, or someone dies. Begin." said the proctor.

The four genin were in a deep hole within the ground, more like an artificial crater.  
Their opponents seemed to be very different, one very tall and willowy, with black hair and green eyes. That was Hataro Daichi. The other was shorter, with bright blue eyes and dark blue hair. He was Hiratai Ryouta.

But he didn't have much time to think.

"Ninpo: Makai Vijion!" said Nasshi.

Both the enemies eyes went blank, and one of them began to scream.  
Nasshi unsheathed his katana, and ran towards them, Katsutoshi throwing a cloud of shuriken and crying  
"Kasai Shuriken no Jutsu!"

The shuriken burst into flame, striking the taller ninja, and throwing him to the ground.

Nass was only metres from his target when he pushed his palms together and cried.  
"Kai!"

Before shouting  
"Ho Shuriken no Jutsu!"

From the earth came shoots, and then plants, that formed leaves that blasted towards Nasshi, slicing and tearing at him, while the ninja who created them escaped.

The ninja who had been struck by the flaming shuriken had got up, and was throwing his own weapons at Katsutoshi, curving them at impossible angles around at the Iwa nin, while Katsutoshi threw different elemental shuriken at him, from lightning and fire through to frost.

Unfortunately, Nasshi and Katsutoshi had barely even hit their opponents, though they had suffered enough times from the leaf attacks and the perfectly aimed, unbelievably accurate attacks of the other.

So Nasshi said, almost silently.  
"Hakumei Nayami."

Suddenly, a change came over the standings. The two shuriken ninja fighting them were battered, bruised and cut, while Nasshi and Katsutoshi were unhurt.

And Nasshi was charging at them with his katana, using a brief second of doubt as his chance.  
"Yield!" cried one of them.  
The other gave him a dirty look, but agreed reluctantly.  
"Yield."

"Kai." said Nasshi, and the two ninja realised that they had a complete advantage. But it was too late.

"Win, Round 1 Match 1 to Henteko Nasshimaru and Taishu Katsutoshi."

The two had to be dragged out of the battlefield for the next match.

* * *

"Round 1 Match 2, Ikkyou Denjiro and Takai Ren against Chouyaka Reina and Ishi Tsubasa."

The four ninja got ready. Denjiro, the tall, thin Iwa nin, and Takai Ren, a red haired and green eyed ninja, also tall and thin. Fighting against an athletic Kunoichi and a huge iwa nin.

It was over very quickly.

Denjiro defeated the rock ninja with a single blow, using his Ishi Kobushi no Jutsu.

The athletic Kunoichi was a bit more of a problem, but she managed to get in a couple of hits before a blast of red light struck her in the chest, and she coughed up blood, and collapsed.

Denjiro and Takai Ren left the arena, medical ninja picking up their opponents, as the proctor called out again.

"Nara Ikumi and Takai Ami against Kai Yuudai and Seichi Saki."

The four of them entered the crater.  
Takai Ami was tall, with long, bright red hair and green eyes. On her back was a long, wooden pole. She was from Suna, the sister of Takai Ren from the previous battle.

Kai Yuudai was shorter than the other three ninja, with brown hair and blue eyes. He had a large weapon in his hand, a scythe, with a blade at each end. He was also from Suna, and Ami gave him a smile before they began.  
Seichi Saki was another tall Kunoichi, with black hair and brown eyes. She was from Kiri.

The battle was short.  
Very. Very short.

Ami and Ikumi waited, allowing Yuudai and Saki to make the first move.  
Yuudai charged towards them, spinning the double ended scythe. Saki formed handsigns, and said.  
"Suiton: Mizu Senbon."  
A dart of pressurised water blasted towards Ikumi, exploding and throwing her off her feet.

Yuudai attacked Ami, who drew the stick from her back.  
The stick flared with blue chakra at each end, blades of energy.

The energy blades struck the blade of the scythe, knocking it away.

Yuudai attacked again, spinning the blades in a glittering arc.

A kunai struck the scythe, knocking it off of its spin completely.

"Kage Nui no Jutsu." said Ikumi.  
Shadowy tendrils stretched forwards quickly, grabbing the shadows of both the other ninja.

Ami got to them with the chakra-spear.

And they gave up.

And it was over.

* * *

The last two battles were anticlimactic after those three. Shinakio, the metaphor-loving Iwa nin, as well as another grass nin managed to defeat a Kunoichi called Daiga Chinatsu fighting beautifully with a pair of tanto, and an incredibly energetic taijutsu expert by the name Jinsoku Shiori. The fifth battle was a painful affair where Kana and a Lightning user managed to defeat a pair using genjutsu and kenjutsu, after a horrible battle.

But then it was time for the second round.

"Round 1, Match 2. Henteko Nasshimaru and Taishu Katsutoshi against Ikkyou Denjiro and Takai Ren.

* * *

Ninpo: Makai Vijion-Ninja Art: Hell Vision  
Kasai Shuriken no Jutsu-Fire Shuriken Technique  
Ho Shuriken no Jutsu-Leaf Shuriken Technique  
Hakumei Nayami-Twilight Agony  
Suiton: Mizu Senbon-Water Release: Water Needle  
Kage Nui no Jutsu-Shadow Sewing Technique

* * *

_Yeah. Bye._


	9. Friendly Fire

_Hello, and welcome to round 2 of the Chunin exams.  
Also, please not that last chapter, the last line should have been Round 2, Match 1._

_Well, in the poll M rating is winning. This is good in my opinion, but if you want it T you really have to vote NOW, because it will matter next chapter.  
_

Chapter Eight-Friendly Fire

"Round 2, Match 1. Henteko Nasshimaru and Taishu Katsutoshi against Ikkyou Denjiro and Takai Ren."

The four of them gathered in the centre of the arena.  
"No hard feeling when we destroy you, right Denjiro?" asked Katsutoshi.

Denjiro sniffed.  
"Good luck with that."

"Begin."

Katsutoshi began with a spread of shuriken.  
"Kasai Shuriken no Jutsu!"

He said, the shuriken becoming engulfed with flames. Denjiro replied with Ishi Kobushi no Jutsu, and caught the attack on his stone arm, blocking it.

Then he ran forwards, planning to attack.

Nasshimaru slashed with his sword, forcing him backwards for fear of injury.

"Chishon: Chishio Boruto."  
A bolt of red light flashed from Takai Ren, catching Nasshimaru in the chest.  
He convulsed as if struck by a cannonball, spitting up blood even as blood began to seep out of his back.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Raikou Shuriken no Jutsu!"  
Katsutoshi shouted, a huge cloud of electrified shuriken flying at the other two ninja. They managed to doge most of them.

And then a pair of them curved round, striking them in the back and knocking them unconscious from electrical discharge.

Katsutoshi held up his hands, a pair of metal wires shimmering in the light.

Medical ninja carried off the two other ninja, and Katsutoshi took Nasshimaru with him, hoping to get him healed before their next battle.

"For the second match of round two, due to extra candidates, it will be Nara Ikumi and Takai Ami against Mokusai Shinakio and Kaiku Momoko and also against Ikoyou Kana and Kumonari Rai."

All of the involved ninja looked a little worried. Ikumi's expression went rapidly from surprise to a large grin.

They assembled.

"Begin."

Takai Ami immediately ran towards Kana and Rai, spinning her chakra spear, pointing it at the other pair f ninja, with the phrase

"Kaze Tama!"

The attack threw a blast of wind against Shinakio and Momoko, forcing them to dodge as Ami reached Kana and Rai.  
"Raiton: Raikouyari!" cried Rai.  
A bolt of lightning jabbed out from his hand, and Ami met it with the blade of her weapon, forcing the lightning chakra to deflect and discharge into the ground.  
"Shimo Kobushi no Jutsu." said Kana.

She stepped forwards to meet Ami, striking the handle of the chakra spear to block it and pushing her other hand into Ami's stomach.

The attack threw her backwards, a white imprint left frozen onto her. She stood up with a curse.

"Ishi Daiga no Jutsu." said Shinakio on the other side of the battlefield, as his teammate Momoko muttered something under her breath.

Roots came up from the ground, entangling both Ikumi and Ami.  
"Kage Nui no Jutsu."

Spears of shadow came from her, tearing the roots apart and then separating, one attacking Shinakio, one Momoko, one Kana and one Rai.

Shinakio slashed at the shadow with his stone weapon, without success, before retreating. Momoko saw his unsuccessful attempt, retreating with him. Kana knew how powerful the technique was, and retreated. Rai threw a curse at Ikumi, followed by the strongest technique he knew.  
"Raiton: Raikoudoragon Arashi!"

A dragon, formed of lightning, fired itself towards Ikumi, tearing apart the air around it with its electrical charge.

One of Ikumi's shadow tendrils interrupted it, tearing through the electricity and interrupting the chakra.

The dragon vanished in a cloud of sparks, and the shadow tentacle struck out towards Rai.

He retreated.

The tentacles herded them into the centre of the battlefield.  
Ikumi gave a triumphant grin as the tentacles struck their shadows, binding their actions to her.

Ami placed her chakra-spear at their necks, one by one.  
"Yield." said Momoko sorrowfully.  
"Mere minnows before sharks." agreed Shinakio.  
"Yield." said Kana quietly, reluctantly.  
"Yield." said Rai, spitting the words out.

* * *

"Round 3." said the person in charge of the tournament. He didn't sound very happy.  
"Henteko Nasshimaru and Taishu Katsutoshi against Nara Ikumi and Takai Ami."

They arrived in the arena, healed from their previous battles, though Nasshimaru looked a little pale.

"Begin."

"Shimo Shuriken no Jutsu, Raikou Shuriken no Jutsu, Kasai Shuriken no Jutsu, Kaze Shuriken no Jutsu, Ishi Shuriken no Jutsu!" cried Katsutoshi in quick succession, throwing volleys of shuriken, each elementally imbued.

Ikumi saw the flashes of light in the air.  
"Wires." she muttered to Ami.

Sure as sure, the shuriken curved wildly in a deadly, beautiful dance, encircling the two ninja and then curving in to strike them.

"Futon: Kyousei Tatsumaki!" said Ami, spinning her chakra spear above her head as she ignited it.

Wind sprang up around them, throwing the shuriken in all directions, before it moved towards the other two ninja.

"Ninpo: Raikou Daiga." said Nasshi.  
And he was behind them, slashing for them.

Preternaturally quick, Ami blocked it with her spear, and jabbed with the other end, forcing her backwards.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" cried Katsutoshi, a horde of shuriken flying at Ikumi and at Ami.

Ami blocked them with her chakra spear, but Ikumi had to dodge back and forth between them, as Katsutoshi repeatedly curved them back around at her.

Eventually, she got annoyed.

"Doton:" she said, pushing her hands to the ground. "Tsuchi Kire!"

The earth underneath Katsutoshi broke.

Shattered into tiny fragments, it left a trench underneath him ten metres long, four metres wide and unknowably deep.

Wind blasted up from the trench as it formed, slashing at Katsutoshi, fortunately for him keeping him aloft as he reached the edge.

"Ninpo: Kage Vijion." said Nasshi.

For Ikumi and Ami, everything went dark. But instantly, both of them used the counter.  
"Kai."

Now on the other side of the battlefield, both Nasshi and Katsutoshi were waiting, Katsutoshi badly cut up by the wind effect of Ikumi's technique.

"Kagemane no Jutsu." said Ikumi.  
The shadow stretched, Katsutoshi unable to escape fast enough, Nasshi unwilling to leave him there.

They were both caught there, by the earth trench.  
Ami blurred, appearing next to them with a shunshin.

"Push them in." called Ikumi.

Unable to move, both Nasshi and Katsutoshi gave up.

"Victors, Takai Ami and Nara Ikumi." said the announcer. He sounded quite irritated at this.  
Nasshi and Katsutoshi left.

"And, a special event." added the proctor. "To see who is the single best ninja of this tournament, Nara Ikumi will be fighting Takai Ami."

The two stared at each other, and each one broke into a smile.  
"Begin,"  
"Kagemane no Jutsu." said Ikumi.  
Ami didn't dodge, allowing the technique to catch her.

"Now what?" she asked. "What can you do?"

Ikumi's only response was to stop balancing, and start to tip over backwards.

Ami looked confused until she realised.  
She was standing on the very edge of the trench. And about to fall in.  
"Yield!" she shouted.

Ikumi grinned, suddenly flexing her muscles, pushing off at what was now a 45 degree angle to the ground, leaping backwards.  
Forced to mirror by the Kagemane, Ami did the same, flipping in mid air and landing on the other side of the trench.

"Winner, Nara Ikumi." grumbled the announcer. "And, for the final battle of the tournament,"  
Ikumi laughed. Now who?  
"The winner will be allowed to fight an Iwa jonin. Me."

With that, the well built jonin charged towards Ikumi, expecting to overwhelm her with taijutsu alone.  
He didn't.

Of course, she was outclassed, but she was able to block.  
Another attack was blocked as well.

Irritated, the jonin attacked viciously, swinging his fists from both sides.

Ikumi ducked under it, leaving him open.  
"Kagemane no Jutsu." she said.

It worked.

"Now what?" growled the jonin. "We're nowhere near the trench."  
Ikumi reached over her back, for a pouch, coming out with a pair of shuriken.

The jonin did the same, realising with cold dread that he had no weapons on his back.

She held the shuriken forwards, ready to throw them at him, as he was unable to do anything about it.  
"Care to yield?" she asked innocently.  
The jonin muttered something.  
"Sorry, pardon?"  
"Yield." he said, louder.

She smiled, released the technique and turned to walk away.

The jonin roared and charged at her again.  
She turned like lightning and threw the shuriken into his chest, and walked away to a mixture of cheers and abusive boos..

* * *

Kasai Shuriken no Jutsu-Fire Shuriken Technique  
Ishi Kobushi no Jutsu-Stone Fist Technique  
Chishon: Chishio Boruto-Blood Release: Bloodbolt  
Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu-Shuriken Shadow Clone Tecnique  
Raikou Shuriken no Jutsu-Lightning Shuriken Technique  
Kaze Tama-Wind Shot  
Raiton: Raikouyari-Lightning Release: Lightning Spear  
Shimo Kobushi no Jutsu-Frost Fist Technique  
Ishi Daiga no Jutsu-Rock Blade Technique  
Kage Nui no Jutsu-Shadow Sewing Technique  
Raiton: Raikoudoragon Arashi-Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Storm  
Shimo Shuriken no Jutsu-Frost Shuriken Technique  
Kaze Shuriken no Jutsu-Wind Shuriken Technique  
Ishi Shuriken no Jutsu-Stone Shuriken Technique  
Futon: Kyousei Tatsumaki-Wind Release-Tornado  
Ninpo: Raikou Daiga-Ninja Art: Lightning Blade  
Doton: Tsuchi Kire-Earth Release: Earth Shatter  
Ninpo: Kage Vijion-Ninja Art: Shadow Vision  
Kai-Release  
Kagemane no Jutsu-Shadow Imitation Technique

* * *

_Ikumi is a Nara Prodigy. Woo. Think about it, Sasuke level skill and Nara level intelligence = YOU GOT PWNED._


	10. Special Operative

_Ohaio! We have had a timeskip! Woo!  
Lemons will be coming. The poll has spoken._

Chapter Nine-Special Operative

* * *  
_12 AK  
_* * *

"Good morning, Nass."

The voice came from behind him. He sighed, and turned.  
The speaker was a female Kunoichi wearing a wolf mask. Anbu, clearly. She was tall, brown hair in a ponytail. She wore a black flak jacket, and a black t-shirt under that. She looked about fifteen, but it was hard to tell.

Nasshi knew exactly who it was.  
"Morning, Ikumi." he replied.

"Um... hello Nass-kun, Ikumi-san." said Kana.  
Nasshi turned and grinned.  
"Hi Kana!" he said.  
"Morning, Kana-chan." said Ikumi.

"What about (Cough) me?"  
That was Gekko Hayate, the team's jonin instructor from when they were genin.

The four years since the chunin exams had been good to their team.  
Nass was now a jonin, specialising in a certain type of mission normally reserved for Kunoichi. He wore his flak jacket with pride.  
Ikumi, of course, was an Anbu, and had already succeeded in entering the bingo book of every one of the shinobi nations.  
Kana on the other hand, now had a genin team of her own. She had probably changed most. Actually going out with Nasshimaru had worked wonders for her self esteem, though she still tended to stutter when she was nervous.

Hayate was the same as always, still coughing a little from his injury on their first mission, though the medical ninja had said it could have been far worse if he hadn't been treated quickly.

"Nasshi, don't you think it's odd that you have performed more _special _missions that Ikumi and Kana put together?" asked Hayate.  
"Well, Kana's too busy looking after her genin and Ikumi's too busy kicking ass, so I'm not surprised. Anyway, I guess I'm just talented." said Nasshi.

"Right." said Ikumi sarcastically.  
"Nasshi, the Hokage wants you, by the way." said Hayate nonchalantly.

Nass groaned.  
"I've only been back a day…"

* * *

The Hokage gave him a sheaf of papers. It was details on a group of ninja, various missing nin from all across the shinobi nations.  
"Three times." muttered Nass. "Three times, they've ransomed ninja back to their villages for exorbitant sums?"

"Three times we know of." said Sarutobi. "Once to us, once to Kusa, and once to Iwa. Of course, there could be more. Kusa is small, but Iwa isn't exactly our greatest ally. Especially after your friend Ikumi embarrassed them four years ago."  
Nasshimaru nodded.

"What am I going to do?" asked Nass.  
"We need you to infiltrate the group." said Sarutobi.  
"What, as a missing nin?"  
"No, as a lost ninja."

Nass nodded.  
"Who?"

Sarutobi handed him another pile of papers. It was a complicated bio, detailing the life, history, personality, fighting style, and everything everyone could ever know about a ninja known as Ikoyou Kotone.

"Excellent, I've always wanted to learn that fighting style." he murmured.  
"We'll give you a tracking seal so we can find you before you use the technique." said Sarutobi.

One of the advantages of Shinsei Henge was that it could be used to create an entirely false identity and personality that even the user would believe was real, only being released by a combination of seals and code words unique to each user.

"Would you like to choose your retrieval team?" asked Sarutobi.

"Kana, Ikumi-chan, Hayate-sensei, and… Hayate-sensei's teammate, Kyori Kaito." said Nass quickly.

Sarutobi looked thoughtful.  
"Nara Ikumi, fine. Ikoyou Kana. It makes sense, I'll see if I can have her genin looked after. Gekko Hayate, that should be fine. Kaito. I think I can get him. How do you know him?"  
"He tried to teach our team ninjutsu once." said Nass. "I was terrible. So was Kana. Ikumi was just passable, I think she has one offensive ranged technique."

The Sandaime smiled.  
"Yes, I think that can be done. I would like you to study this girl very closely, and meet your team tomorrow at 8AM." said Sarutobi. "This is an A rank Information gathering mission. Good luck. Oh, and don't worry, we have her permission to use her personality. She was quite flattered."

* * *

"Are you ready?" asked Nasshi.  
"Of course." said Ikumi, no longer wearing her mask. Without it, you could see that she was averagely pretty, better than the promises of her childhood, but still only good. The arrogance probably didn't help, well founded as it was.

"Yes." said Kana.  
"Of course." said the relative newcomer, Kyori Kaito.

"Are you?" asked Hayate. "Remember, we'll get you out when you're found by the group, and we'll cancel the mission if it takes longer than three weeks, because of the dangers of Shinsei Henge."  
Nass nodded.

"I'm ready."  
"Then go into the forest, and then transform." said Hayate, and Nasshimaru nodded again, and left.

* * *

Ikoyou Kotone was lost in the forests, and she was injured into the deal. A skirmish with enemy ninja had left the young chunin with a head wound.

She was silver haired, like most of her family, with brown eyes. She was beautiful, once again a common family feature. As was their tradition, she wore a white dress, split at the sides, and a grey coat. She wore a pair of katana on her back, a legacy of her time studying with her teacher's - and cousin, for that matter – teammate Nasshimaru. This also gave her a repertoire of Genjutsu. But her main advantage was in her family's Taijutsu.

But none of that really helped, considering her injury. She was barely conscious, and being able to fight well was a long way off. She needed to find her way back to Konoha, soon.

Problem was, she was terrible at navigating in trees. They all looked the same to her.  
There was no way she was getting back alone.

But there was no one looking for her. She had to try.

She stood up, wincing at the pain in her head, and started to walk through the shadowy woods.

* * *

"That's a powerful technique." muttered Kaito from the treetops. "You've got some good students there, Hayate!"  
"They're all great." said Hayate quietly, coughing a little.

He was proud. One of his students was a sensei by fifteen. Another was an elite Anbu by the same age. Another was an expert assassin and spy, specialising in a particularly unpleasant type of mission.

Yes, he was proud.

* * *

Three days.

Three days 'Kotone' had been wandering aimlessly in the forest, and three days her teammates had been hoping she would unwittingly lead them to the ninja gang.

Three days of no progress, and each day got them closer to the deadline. After all, they only had a few weeks before Shinsei Henge would become near permanent.

It was also on this third day that something happened.

Ikumi was watching when it happened.  
Well, not watching.  
She was monitoring the chakra levels in the area, using highly trained senses.

Kotone's signature began to fluctuate, and then fell to a low level, unconsciousness.

Ikumi sat bolt upright, and ran to the scene.  
Too late.

* * *

Kotone was still wandering, starting to get hungry, tired, still unwell from her head wound.  
She didn't sense the chakra signatures of the attackers, not that she could have done, masked as they were.

And consumed in her woe, she didn't see them, or hear them.

The first clue she had was a shuriken embedded deep in her right arm.

She cried out, barely able to move it.

"And there go handsigns." said one of the attackers.  
"No Genjutsu for you, no taijutsu either." sad another.

Those two looked the same, both tall, black haired and green eyed, with crossed out Kiri headbands.

They were the Legendary Genjutsu brothers.

With some difficulty, Kotone drew a katana with her other hand.  
"Well, we heard you were around." said one of the brothers. "So we thought we'd find ourselves some Kenjutsu."

Another figure appeared. A figure Kotone thought she should know, and had no idea why.  
She also had a scratched Kiri headband and two katana on her back.  
Her name was Emiri.

Her Kenjutsu ability far outstripped Kotone's, and in Kotone's weakened state she didn't stand a chance.  
She was knocked unconscious, and carried away.

* * *

And not a single one of the team realised until she was already unconscious.

* * *

Shinsei Henge-True Transformation

* * *

_Uh-oh…_


	11. Repercussions and Memories

_Ohai._

Disclaimer-I own this AU, and the OCs, nothing more.

Announcement: I have a new fic which is canon to this. It is VERY lemony, and is an OCXOrochimaru. It will matter, as it explains some of the differences between this world and the original-none of which you know yet. XD It is called The Snake and the Slut. I hope some of you read and enjoy it.

Chapter Ten-Repercussions and Memories

Kotone woke up to a dark stone cell, metal bars covering the windows, a cuff on each of her hands and wrists. Chakra limiters. They weren't attached to anything, but she couldn't escape without chakra, and they looked strong.

She had nothing else on her. Not even the clothes on her back. She was completely naked.  
She would have blushed, but… well, she was a ninja. She was trained to think her situation through. Some ninja did missions where… 'getting naked' was in the job description. She wasn't old enough for that, of course, but…

There were footsteps, and a metal door set into one of the cell walls opened.

"Ah, you're awake." came a voice. Not one she knew, but one she… should. It belonged to a tall ninja, wearing a headband from the Land of Snow.  
"My name is Baen." he said. "I am sorry to inform you that you are going to be held here for ransom, back to the land of Konoha. It is also my duty to tell you that there are a great few bored ninja in this complex. I'm sure some of them will come to you in time."

He left, before she had time to register what he had said.

When a ninja entered the room, dropping his clothes and approaching her, she understood, and her face went pale. She held herself tight in a ball.  
His hand scrabbled at her, forcing something into her mouth.

A few moments later, the drug took effect and Kotone threw herself at the ninja.  
He smiled, and took her.

* * *

"What happened?" asked Hayate.  
"I don't know, alright?!" shouted Ikumi. "One second she… he was fine, and then moments later, unconscious. There was no-one else there! No-one can use jutsu while hiding their signature that well."  
"Then it must have been taijutsu, or Kenjutsu." said Kaito. "It's obvious."

Kana glared at the jonin.  
"Well, it is." he said indignantly.  
"I screwed up. I should have watched properly as well…" said Ikumi.  
"We couldn't have foreseen this." said Hayate. "Don't beat yourself up about it."  
"Right." said Ikumi unhappily.

Hayate sighed.  
Kana's eyes were distant.

Kaito glanced at Hayate. The sensei was far away, worrying about the oddest of his students…

* * *

"Oh, hello again… Kotone, was it?" came a voice. Kotone recognised it.  
It was the Kunoichi from the clearing, when she'd been captured…

"All in the same boat now." said the Kiri-nin. "They only wanted me for Kenjutsu, and… they decided it'd be a good idea to ransom me as well… perverted bastards. _That _is why they really wanted me."

She sighed.  
"You know why I'm in here right?" said the older Kunoichi.  
Kotone shook her head.  
"They're watching. They want us to… you know."

Kotone shook her head again, wildly.  
"If we don't they'll punish us, and make us do it anyway." said Emiri, reasonably. "And you'll enjoy it more this way…

Kotone didn't like it. Not in the slightest. But… the older girl was right.  
And she forgot her objections as soon as Emiri slipped a hand inside of her, she forgot everything.

When she woke up, that wasn't the worst of her worries-though how much she'd enjoyed herself was bothering her a little.

No, there was something… since she woke up in the forest, there had been something important hovering just beyond the edge of her memory… and it was gone. That memory was out of reach… and the fact that it had ever been there was slipping away.

* * *

"We can't find her." said Ikumi, upset. "The trail's nonexistent. They've been doing this for a long time…"  
"We need one of the tracker clans." said Hayate. "Kana, run back to the village."  
"H…hai." she nodded, not too happy about it, but turning to run.

* * *

"I found a Hyuuga, Hayate-sensei." said Kana, returning a few hours later. "Hyuuga Neji, the prodigy."

Neji walked up to Hayate.  
"Excuse me, sensei, what am I doing?" he asked.  
"We need you to find Idoyou Kotone. She should be somewhere nearby, but we can't detect her chakra. She's been captured." said Hayate, shortly.  
"Hn. If she got herself captured, she got herself captured." said Neji dismissively.  
"She was MEANT to get captured." growled Ikumi/  
"Then what's the problem?" asked the Hyuuga coolly.  
"We lost her." said Ikumi, looking down.  
"I thought you were a prodigy." sniffed Neji, starting to leave.  
"Kagemane no Jutsu."

"If you say anything like this again." hissed Ikumi. "The Hyuuga clan will be short one prodigy."

"…yes, Ikumi…sama."

* * *

"She's in there." said Neji. "I should return to the village."  
"You do that." said Ikumi, adding. "Teme." after he left.

The building in front of them was within an immense cliff. There was no entrance, nor exit, in sight.  
"I'll look this way, with Kana." said Hayate. "Kaito, you and Ikumi go that way. Meet on the other side."

They nodded, and split up.

* * *

"Hello." said a young boy. He was black haired, and well built. "I'm Katsutoshi. Want some sex? I'm bored, and they won't let me go unless my village pays for me…"

Kotone stared at him in disbelief.  
"Fuck you." she said.

He sighed.  
"Oh well…"

* * *

"Anything?"  
"Nothing." said Kaito.

"This is a waste of time." said Ikumi. "If there's no door, make one.

Doton: Zutazuta Tsuchi!" shouted Ikumi, slamming her hands to the ground.

* * *

Kagemane no Jutsu-Shadow Imitation Technique  
Doton: Zutazuta Tsuchi-Oh, now that's lazy! Why not wait? Or at least go translate it yourself…

* * *

_XP_


	12. Rescues and Problems

_XD Haaaai.  
Anyone who wants to read another Seduction-Kunoichi fic… this now has a Companion, called The Snake and the Slut. Plz enjoy, or at least enjoy, this chapter, kthxbaaaaai! _

Chapter Eleven-Rescues and Problems

There was a loud, unearthly cracking noise, like the wail of an immeasurably large beast.

The earth split.

The fissure formed shot forwards, reaching the cliff. The solid rock wall shattered, tearing itself apart as the two sided moved, creating a path right through the middle of it, into the 'secret' base.

Kana had ran for it before Hayate could even speak, and he and Kaito quickly followed her.

Ikumi was deathly pale, and remained still for a few moments before standing up and following them.

Kana dashed out, still in front, ignoring everything as she followed a chakra signature, one that felt like her sisters, but also like Nasshi's…  
Hayate, Kaito, and Ikumi were slower. They saw the ninja in the building, too stunned to be a threat, and also the ninja being held prisoner, in various states of health and dress. Most of the female ones were naked.

But Kana didn't notice, and when she finally reached the shattered walls of 'Kotone's' cell, she had no choice but to notice.  
Her blood froze.  
Then ran hot.  
Her boyfriend-lover, even-of two years was there. Naked, clearly abused. In the body of her sister.

It was very unlucky that the ninja of this group chose then to launch a counterattack, as Kana was finally angry enough to use her clans most powerful technique, one unlocked by sheer fury.  
"Kasai Kobushi no Jutsu!"

She dashed forwards, slamming one palm into each of the five ninja within two seconds, leaving shattered bones and molten skin.

She turned, looking for a new target, and barely stopped herself from attacking the rest of her team as they arrived.

Hayate stared on, astounded. Kana was the _weakest_ of their team…  
Ikumi was equally surprised. Kana was strong, yes, strong enough to teach, but…  
Kyori decided it was best for his health if he neglected to comment.

"…onesan?" said 'Kotone' timidly. "Is that you?"  
Kana turned, cancelling her technique, and embracing the girl.  
"Everything's going to be alright." she whispered. "We're going home… Nasshi. Kai."

Kana formed the handsign to reverse Nasshi's Shinsei Henge, behind Nasshi's back.

Nothing happened.

"Oh, shit." muttered Kaito.  
"…got that right." said Hayate.

Kana groaned.  
"…Kotone… imoto-san…" whispered Kana. "Everything will be fine when we get home."  
"What about the others that are here?" asked 'Kotone.' "They need a home… no-one wants them…"

"We'll take them." said Hayate. "You and Kana go, we'll bring them."  
'Kotone' nodded.

Kana reached into a small bag on her hip, bringing out a change of clothes she'd brought-for herself, actually-and giving them to 'Kotone.'

She put them on quickly, and Kana nodded.

"We need to go." she said.

* * *

"So… Kotone… what do you remember?" asked the medical ninja.  
"About what?" asked Kotone.

The ninja sighed.  
"I'm going to have to dig out the technique to reverse it. It could take me a few days." he said.  
Kana groaned.  
"You'd better come… home." she said.

* * *

"Look…Kotone… imoto-san." said Kana awkwardly. "Nasshi got stuck. He thinks he actually is you, and it could last a few days."  
"…ok, that's weird." said Kotone. "What's she gonna say when she sees me?"  
"I… kind of told her you were someone using Shinsei henge." said Kana awkwardly.

"…thanks a lot, onesan, now my head hurts." said Kotone. "Fine, I'll do it."  
"Thanks." said Kana, embracing her sister. "I think he's coming now."

"Hello, onesan, and… me." smiled 'Kotone.'  
"hello… Kotone." said the real Kotone. "Nice to actually meet you… I need to go though."

She whispered to her sister.  
"This is way too confusing. I'm going to sleep at Emiri's house."

* * *

Doton: Zutazuta Tsuchi-Earth Release: Torn Earth  
Kasai Kobushi no Jutsu-Fire Fist Technique  
Shinsei Henge-True Transformation

* * *

_Good, hmmmm? Or not, Hmmmmmmmmmm?_


	13. More Repercussions

_Well, hello. Very soon the plots of this and of the actual anime and of Snake and Sliut are going to collide. With a particularly vicious hypervelicity kabloom._

Chapter Twelve-Repercussions

"So… Kotone." said Kana, a little uncomfortable. "Are you feeling any better?"  
"Yes, I think so, onesan." nodded 'Kotone.' "What are we going to be doing in training?"

Kana groaned inwardly.  
Kotone was on her genin team, but chances were she would lose horribly against Nass when they sparred, as he was stronger than her, whether he knew it or not… there was no way they could do training.  
"I think it's best if we wait until you've got better." said Kana, meaning his memory and knowing that 'Kotone' would think of her mostly healed head wound.

"But… what about the chunin exams?" asked 'Kotone', worriedly.  
"Ummm…" said Kana. "_Fuuuck_" she thought. "Well… I'm sorry, but I think you'll have to wait for the next ones."

The younger girl looked upset.  
"What about Emiri and Kazuhiro?" she said, naming her two teammates.  
"Well…" said Kana, who was wondering how she was going to get this to work if 'Kotone' wasn't Nass again by the exams.

It came to her in a flash.  
"Well, you remember the girl who's henge'd into you at the moment? She's a singular ninja. I asked her to take your place in the exam so Emiri and Kazuhiro still get a shot." she said, making it up as she went along. "She's experienced, she won't show you up."

;Kotone; smiled.  
"Oh, clever, onesan, clever."

Kana groaned inwardly.  
Nass' stubbornness and Kotone's insightful irritation. This was going to be a long few weeks…

* * *  
_Some days later  
_* * *

"Do you think they're alright?" asked ;Kotone;, fretting. "I mean, the Forest of Death… it's really dangerous in there!"  
"They'll be fine." said Kana. "Kazuhiro is a strong fighter, and you know Emiri, it would take more than a few dangerous forests to get between her and getting strong. And K-well, your fan is very skilled as well. I'm sure they'll be fine." said Kana, with a brief smile.

"I guess you're right." admitted 'Kotone'. "But… what if-"  
"No, Kotone."

Kana was seeing very little that showed that this girl _wasn't_ Kotone. And it was worrying her.

* * *

"And graduating from the second stage of the chunin exams today, we have…" began Anko.

Kana tensed up.  
Her sister was in this, and her teammates…

"…Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto. Ikoyou Kotone, Yariman Emiri, Seiryoku Kazuhiro. Nara Shikamaru…"  
Kana gave a sigh of relief.

_Her team all passed._

* * *

"How did they do?" asked 'Kotone'.  
"They all passed, don't worry." answered Kana.  
"I wish I'd been there…" sighed 'Kotone.'  
"Don't worry." said Kana. "Soon enough, it won't really matter, will it?"  
"No, I guess…" said 'Kotone', annoyed.

"_I know._" thought Kana. She'd had a message saying that the technique was ready. Wouldn't Kotone be relieved…

* * *

Finally, Nass had left the house.  
Kotone sighed. She had time to sneak in and get her stuff before they came back, probably.  
The door opened and shut behind her.  
She gulped.

She turned around, and said. "Uh, hello, Kana… Kotone…"  
"Hello." responded 'Kotone.'  
"Nass, stop being mean." scolded Kana.

Nasshimaru formed a handsign, and became himself again.  
Kotone growled, but then she smiled a little.

"I guess I missed you." she said.  
"I'm sure I would have missed you, if I could actually have… you know, thought about it." grinned Nass.  
Kotone hit him.  
"At least, I think I missed you. Can't remember why." she said.

* * *

A knock on the door.  
Nasshimaru sighed, and got up from his desk.

His apartment was small and messy-very messy. There were clothes on the floor, and various books lying around, with names like 'Icha Icha Paradise' being the most prevalent. Half written scrolls lay around, along with badly drawn pictures.

The pictures seemed to be mainly of his friends, and bad as they were they clearly had a lot of attention in them.

He opened his door. It was Kana outside, smiling.  
"Hey, Nass." she said. "I was just wondering if you were going to see the tournament, I mean, Kotone and Emiri-waki and Kazuhiro-and Emiri's team as well-are in it."  
"Sure." said Nass. "Wouldn't miss it."

Kana smiled happily.  
They'd been together for over three years, and she still felt a warm glow when he did anything with her.

She stopped, seeing a large scroll half written on Nass' desk.  
"What's that?" she asked, accusingly.

"Just writing out a profile." he replied hurriedly. "Let's go."  
He ushered her out, closing his door behind them.

* * *

_Mostly filler. :/ Next chapter relies on something to happen outside of this fic, so… might have to wait a while. Sorry._


End file.
